Counter Terrorism

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been a member of the EU since 2004. During the presidency of the Greek Cypriot side and Türkiye's relations with the EU it is known to have stalled. It should be added that the Greeks always felt the support of the West behind them.¹⁵⁰ In 2013, the EU and IMF provided €1 billion in financial support to Southern Cyprus.¹⁵¹

The Cyprus issue is waiting for the day of solution under the leadership of the guarantor powers, Türkiye, Greece, and the UK. However, since the share of land demanded by the Greek side is much higher than the share given by Türkiye, an agreement cannot be reached. This issue is seen as the basis of today’s problem.The parties met again in 2017, but again the land issue was seen as the biggest problem,¹⁵²and the negotiations were decided to be terminated.

4. Areas of Common Interest

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Its formation dates back to Pashtun refugees who were educated in Pakistani madrasas. Most of its members are Taliban fighters who fought in Afghanistan.

Pakistan was working on a major policy area and that was to fight against terrorism after what happened on 11^th September 2001. The invasion of Afghanistan by the US-led international coalition and the fall of the Taliban have created serious instability in the region for both Afghanistan and Pakistan. This is because the newly established administration of Hamid Karzai and international forces in Afghanistan have not achieved any significant results in their fight against Taliban and al Qaeda militants hiding in the mountainous regions bordering Pakistan. As Pakistan was unable to effectively control its nearly 2,500 km border with Afghanistan, militant groups in both countries created significant security problems along the border.¹⁵⁴

Pakistan Military initiated an operation in opposition to the Taliban in South Waziristan In October 2009 after which the number of suicide attacks in the country increased. The Pakistani Taliban also has links to Al-Qaeda. It is estimated that Al-Qaeda’s core personnel, Osama bin Laden, and Ayman al-Zawahiri, reside on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and in Pakistan’s tribal areas. It was believed that Al-Qaeda is involved in several attacks in Pakistan.

A retired Pakistani official stated that Al-Qaeda may be trying to give the Taliban time to reorganize through such attacks.

Türkiye is also threatened by regional terrorism due to its permanent and geopolitical position in the international security environment. The ongoing activities that started with the armed raids by PKK militants in Eruh and Şemdinli districts in 1984 continue to this day. The arrest of terrorist ringleader Abdullah Ocalan on February 16, 1999 did not put an end to the terrorist attacks. As is well known, Türkiye's struggle against the PKK is closely linked to that of other states in the region. At this point, eliminating terrorist organizations and minimizing their influence is of regional importance. In Türkiye, in addition to the PKK, international terrorist organizations also carry out actions. Al-Qaeda, which is described as the most established terrorist organization in the world, carried out suicide attacks on the Sisli Beth Israel Synagogue at 09:30 on November 15, 2003, and on the the Beyoğlu Neve Salom Synagogue in Istanbul at 09:34. Both attacks killed 26 people, including two activists, and injured 303

154 Ismail Akbaş…, p.204.

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people. The martyr Abu Hafiz al-Misri Brigade, who is known to be affiliated with Al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attacks.¹⁵⁵

Terrorism is providing to be a factor affecting the internal and regional stability of both Türkiye and Pakistan. The current terrorist activities differ in terms of the purpose and function of the organizations. While Türkiye is fighting the separatist terrorist organization PKK, Pakistan is fighting the radical Islamic terrorist organization Taliban. Although the afore mentioned terrorist organizations differ from each other, they have many areas in common.

First of all, both terrorist organizations finance themselves through drug and human trafficking.

If we look at the world in general, it is possible to see that 90% of the opium and heroin produced and trafficked comes from Afghanistan. On a significant note, 93 % of this production occurs in the Himalayan region and this region is under the control of the Taliban.

Moreover, the army is the main player in the fight against terrorism in both countries. In addition, the PKK and Taliban Terrorist Organizations are functionally based on ideological foundations. While the Taliban is ideologically based on the fundamentalist ideology, the PKK has adopted the separatist ideology.¹⁵⁶ In addition to all these, both countries are affected by the activities of Al-Qaida, the world's largest terrorist organization. The Taliban's connection with Al-Qaeda and the terrorist attacks carried out by the same terrorist organization in Türkiye bring Türkiye and Pakistan back to the same plane. In this sense, cooperation, and exchange of information against international terrorist organizations are of great importance.

Both countries have expressed the importance of cooperation on terrorism at every opportunity from the very beginning. In this context, Kenan Evren made his first foreign visit as President to Pakistan in November 1981, a dinner was held in honour of him by President Ziya-ul Haq where he emphasized the heavy expenditure incurred by both countries on the military and the fight against terrorism.¹⁵⁷

The first item on the agenda of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's visit to Türkiye in January 2004 was to take up arms against terrorism. In this context, Türkiye has demonstrated its support for Pakistan, especially President Musharraf. As a result of

155 Seçkin Çetin., p.67.

156 Ibid..., p. 68.

157 Cumhuriyet Arşivi, November 24, 1981, p. 1,

https://www.cumhuriyetarsivi.com/sign/buy_page.xhtml?page=5198696.

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negotiations between the delegates, they signed an agreement on “Fighting International Terrorism and Organized Crime” (FAITOR)¹⁵⁸ on 20 January 2004 in Ankara on cooperation and communication in the fight against terrorism. President Caesar said the agreement, signed on cooperation in combating international terrorism and organized crime, reflects the joint decision of the two countries against terrorism.¹⁵⁹

During Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Pakistan in October 2009, they exchanged talks and discussed the importance of counterterrorism and working together to fight against terrorism and reiterated that they support each other on terrorism. During this visit, Prime Minister Recep Tayyib Erdoğan said in his speech at the joint session of the Pakistan Senate and the National Assembly, that he believes Pakistan will surely make its fight against terrorism a success, and he also said, "You are not alone in the fight against terrorism and extremism."¹⁶⁰

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Pakistan in December 2013, and along with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif stressed the need for enhanced counterterrorism and security cooperation. In this context, they signed a protocol providing the framework for counter-terrorism and security cooperation.¹⁶¹Also, in a meeting held in Islamabad in August 2015, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif agreed to strengthen counter-terrorism cooperation by incorporating the realistic threats posed by militant groups such as, the Islamic State (ISIS) and other such terrorist organizations. Consequently, officials from both sides met in Ankara in June 2019 and discussed the threats posed by international terrorism at the global and regional levels¹⁶² and presented their determination to jointly fight terrorism in all its forms.

158 “Compendium of Bilateral and Regional Instruments for South Asia: International Cooperation in Criminal

Matters,” UNODC Regional Office, (2015),

https://www.unodc.org/documents/terrorism/Publications/SAARC%20com pendium/SA_Compendium_Volume-1.pdf.

159 Ismail Akbaş., p.209.

160 Ibid.., p.210.

161 Mateen Haider, “Pakistan, Türkiye Agree to Enhance Counter-Terrorism Cooperation,” Dawn, August 1, 2020.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1197821, (Accessed May 01, 2021).

162 Ali Murat Alhas, “Türkiye, Pakistan Discuss Counter Terrorism Efforts,” Anadolu Agency, June 2, 2019, https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/Türkiyepakistan-discuss-counter-terrorism-efforts/1495200, (Accessed, May 01, 2021).

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It was stated that combating extremism and terrorism needs an extensive approach at the regional and global levels, while addressing root causes was considered essential to countering terrorism. Both Pakistan and Türkiye also focused on the threats and challenges posed by terrorist groups such as Islamic State (ISIS) in Middle East and rest of the world to take necessary measures to combat this evil. Moreover, both Pakistan and Türkiye have strongly condemned the gruesome terrorist attacks in New Zealand and Sri Lanka.

Türkiye and Pakistan have constantly been supportive towards one another on every platform. The importance of friendly affairs and supportiveness between the two countries was made clear at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) forum when Türkiye along with China, and Malaysia, refused to blacklist Pakistan through the action took by US and UK for failing to prevent the financing of terrorism from its soil. Despite this Pakistan was placed on the grey list in June 2018 by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The only state that favoured Pakistan and opposed the move was Türkiye. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in his June 2020 speech to the Pakistani parliament, stated that Türkiye will support Pakistan against any political pressure from intergovernmental FATF. Türkiye praised the dedication of Pakistan in the fight against terrorism. In addition, Pakistan has supported Türkiye as a true friend in times of crisis. The administrative control of FETO-sponsored schools¹⁶³ was given to the Government of Türkiye by Pakistan. Pakistan also started a campaign in help of the Turkish lira by purchasing Turkish currency after sanctions were put on Türkiye by USA, about Imprisonment of an American pastor in Türkiye.